Thilo von Seebach

Thilo von Seebach (born June 30, 1890 in Leipzig , † October 21, 1966 in Rösrath ) was a German vice admiral in World War II .

Imperial Navy

Thilo came from the old Thuringian noble family . He attended the König-Albert-Gymnasium in his hometown and joined the Imperial Navy ( Crew 09 ) as a midshipman on April 1, 1909 . He completed his basic training on the large cruiser SMS Freya , then went to the Mürwik Naval School and was appointed ensign at sea on April 12, 1910 . After he had completed his training, he was transferred to the large-scale ship SMS Nassau on October 1, 1911, and was promoted to lieutenant at sea on September 19, 1912. On October 1, 1913, he was transferred as a company officer to the main division of the sailor artillery department Kiautschou and on April 21, 1914 he left Germany for Tsingtau . Seebach was initially used there as an officer on watch on the gunboat SMS Iltis . Seebach remained on board after the outbreak of the First World War until the boat was decommissioned on August 7, 1914. He then took over as commander of Battery VIII of the Tsingtau land front and as such went into Japanese captivity on November 7, 1914 after the siege of Tsingtau and the associated surrender of the German troops . Seebach was released from captivity on Boxing Day 1919. After his return to Germany, he was initially made available, promoted to lieutenant on January 30, 1920 and on leave until May 30, 1920. Seebach received the Iron Cross II. Class, the Colonial Badge and the Prussian Rescue Medal on the ribbon .

Imperial Navy

It took Seebach in the Imperial Navy , promoted him on July 7 to Lieutenant it silly for less than six months as a company commander in the II. Battalion of the coastal defense regiment Wilhelmshaven one. After the reorganization of the association, he worked in the same function until February 28, 1922, first in the II. Department, then the I. Department of the ship master division of the North Sea. He then came on board the ship of the line Braunschweig as 3rd artillery officer and spent the time from September 25, 1923 to October 2, 1927 as a teacher at the coastal artillery school in Wilhelmshaven . This was followed by employment on the ships of the line Schlesien until September 3, 1930 as 2nd artillery officer, as 1st artillery officer in Schleswig-Holstein and Hanover as well as his interim promotion to corvette captain on January 1, 1928. Seebach then acted as commander of the until September 24, 1936 Coastal artillery school and at the same time as head of the land artillery test command .

Navy

Seebach became a frigate captain on January 1, 1933, and shortly thereafter, on October 1, 1934, a sea captain . From September 25, 1936 to September 29, 1937 he commanded the ship of the line Silesia and was then in command of the fortifications of the Pomeranian coast until March 29, 1939 . As such, he was promoted to Rear Admiral on October 1, 1938 . In addition to his duties, from January 23 to April 2, 1939, he was entrusted with the management of the naval artillery inspector, before he was in charge of the naval artillery inspection until March 31, 1943. At the same time he acted from April 7, 1940 to June 3, 1941 as Coast Commander Western Baltic Sea and was promoted as such on January 1, 1941 to Vice Admiral. After Seebach was released from his position as inspector, he was made available to the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy until May 31, 1943 and then dismissed. From June 1st, he continued to work as a civil servant officer and Seebach was deployed as an artillery stage manager at the Norwegian naval command . In this position he received the German Silver Cross on April 18, 1945 .

post war period

The Allies left Seebach at his post after the end of the war , and until July 1945 he was responsible for the demilitarization and repatriation of the German occupation forces from Norway back home. From July 2, 1945, he was then in British captivity , from which he was released on October 15, 1947.

family

On January 4, 1934, Seebach married Geraldine Countess von Waldersee (1902–1986). She was the granddaughter of Friedrich Franz von Waldersee (1829–1902). The couple had three children.

literature

• Dermot Bradley (eds.), Hans H. Hildebrand, Ernest Henriot: Germany's Admirals 1849-1945. The military careers of naval, engineering, medical, weapons and administrative officers with admiral rank. Volume 3: P-Z. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1990, ISBN 3-7648-1700-3 , pp. 320–321.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ König Albert-Gymnasium (Royal High School until 1900) in Leipzig: Student album 1880–1904 / 05. Friedrich Grober. Leipzig 1905.
2. ^ Reichswehr Ministry (ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsmarine. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1929, p. 43.
3. ↑ Klaus D. Patzwall , Veit Scherzer : The German Cross 1941-1945. History and owner. Volume II, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt 2001, ISBN 3-931533-45-X , p. 557.
4. ↑ CV at Special Camp 11
5. ↑ Short biography of Thilo von Seebach. In: Tsingtau and Japan 1914-1920 - Historically Biographical Project. Retrieved March 23, 2016 .